A good omen for a good person

  Xian Yi's upper teeth were chattering against her lower teeth, shaking uncontrollably. She didn't know if the two men had appeared in her house intentionally or unintentionally. What she couldn't understand was why Jin Fenghua, who was clearly the least favored young master of the manor, possessed such impressive martial arts skills and had somehow become entangled with the eunuchs in the palace. These things were definitely unknown to the mistress of the house, but whether the old master knew or not, Xian Yi wasn't clear about. What puzzled her even more was why the third young master was so capable, yet repeatedly bullied by the eldest young master, a man of such low character. Was this a cover-up or something else entirely? For some reason, Xian Yi didn't bother to think about what schemes Jin Fenghua might have in his mind.

  For a long time, there was no sound in the house. Xian Yi didn't dare to be careless and stood stiffly against the wall. Fortunately, the curtains blocked the view from outside, so as long as she didn't make any noise, it should be unlikely that anyone would notice her presence.

  "Is there a little mouse inside?" Jin Fenghua's voice was drawn out, clear and pleasant to the ear, but it made Xian Yi's legs tremble.

  Before long, the curtains were lifted from outside, and Jin Fenghua, dressed in a moon-white robe, held a treasure sword in his hand, looking at Xianyi with a hint of surprise, and then said: "It's actually you, that makes things difficult."

  Xian Yi bit the tip of her tongue, and the Golden Wind Flower in front of her seemed like a different person. His aura was strong, his movements were lazy, and that boy who would blush at the ears when talking seemed like a dream that had been pierced through. The boy in front of her, who was emitting a killing intent all over his body, seemed to be the real reality.

  "My mother said you're a good person, but you've seen things you shouldn't have. What do you...?" Jin Fenghua sat down on the edge of the bed, as if chatting casually: "Should I kill you or not?"

  The moonlight from the window shines on Jin Fenghua's half face, and the transparent eyes that were once clear are now filled with an uncharacteristic cruelty and suspicion. Xian Yi doesn't doubt what he says at all; as long as she makes a slight mistake in her behavior, it's very likely that she won't survive tonight.

  "Who are you?" Xian Yi couldn't think of any other way, so she pretended to be muddled and said.

  "Oh?" Jin Fenghua touched his own face and chuckled: "You're quite interesting."

  Xian Yi curled herself up into a ball, coughing and saying: "My family has no money, if the great hero needs anything, there is a jewelry box on my desk, please take what you need and spare this young woman's life."

  "But what if I leave and you talk nonsense?" Jin Fenghua thought for a moment, furrowed his brow, as if he was in a difficult situation.

  "How...how could I, I don't even know the grand hero, besides, it wouldn't be good for a slave like me to go see an official, right?" Xian Yi laughed twice, but felt that the atmosphere hadn't relaxed at all, instead becoming even more pale and weak.

  "That's settled!" Jin Fenghua patted the bed and turned around with a smile: "I heard that there are eyes and ears in the back house, since my mother likes you, I don't want you to reveal my secrets, so from now on, you'll be my person."

  "What...what?" Xian Yi almost choked on her own saliva, she had never heard of a man who would still set up eyes and ears in his wife's chambers, let alone one who looked like he could come and go as he pleased, even the eunuchs who practiced martial arts could be injured by him. What was there in this household that he couldn't know about? Wasn't he playing with her?

  Jin Fenghua narrowed his eyes slightly and suddenly sneered: "But unwilling?"

  Xian Yi hastily shook her head, she wasn't the madam's loyal servant after all. At this moment, even if it meant risking her life for wealth, she had to agree first and try to calm down this lunatic, otherwise there would only be her mother left in this world, and even if she died, she wouldn't be at peace.

  "Not... just feels a bit sudden. But it's just eyeliner." Xian Yi didn't forget to draw a few strokes, she wasn't willing to be killed by the madam.

  "Hmm... it's really interesting, isn't it?" Jin Fenghua turned around, slowly climbed onto the bed, and with almost no effort, pulled Xian Yi into his arms. He looked at her body trembling like a sieve, but her expression remained as calm as usual. Unconsciously, he reached out to touch her face and said, "I want you by my side, but I don't like it when others betray me, what should I do?"

  Xian Yi didn't dare to look directly, so she lowered her eyes and shook her head.

  "Leave a mark for you." Jinfenghua's eyes lit up, like a child who had found a new toy. He pinched the embroidery needle between his fingers and blew a breath onto Xianyi's clothes, saying: "This is just the first step. I will make it so that you have no way to retreat. At least until I get bored, you must stay by my side."

  Xian Yi was dazed by the fragrance, feeling weak all over and slumping down. In her mind, except for this sentence, she didn't hear anything else. Soon, she reluctantly fell into a dreamland.

  The next morning, Xian Yi woke up at her usual time and looked at herself wearing a camisole lying on the bed. She thought that last night was just a nightmare and even ridiculed herself for having such a rich imagination to think of Jin Feng Hua as a crazy killer. At first, she laughed it off, then reached out to grab her clothes, which were still in the same place where she had left them before sleeping yesterday, and didn't seem to have been touched by anyone. Xian Yi was even more convinced that it was just a dream. However, as she moved, a sharp pain suddenly came from her collarbone, and when she reached out to touch it, she was shocked to find a thin scar on the originally smooth skin.

  The fairy's clothes were not yet on, and she had already rolled out of bed in a hurry. However, before putting on her shoes, she noticed that on the shoe surface where red plum blossoms were originally embroidered, an additional plum blossom appeared, with a color slightly deeper than the other blossoms. Upon closer inspection, the fairy almost threw away the shoes, realizing it wasn't a plum blossom at all, but rather a drop of blood. The deeper reason was that the fresh blood had congealed and darkened.

  No longer bothering to put on her shoes, the fairy looked around the unchanged room, even examining the gaps between the floor tiles. Except for the bloodstain on the shoe surface, the room remained exactly as it was, without a single clue or thread of evidence. The fairy sat dejectedly on the stool with bare feet, unable to distinguish reality from dreams.

  On the dresser in front of her, a mirror faced the fairy. She hesitated for a moment before inexplicably opening her robe.

  At this time, a symbol was embroidered on Xianyi's collarbone, which looked like a simplified peony flower.

  I don't know how many times I've pulled my collar today. Xian Yi sighed, and indeed, she had something on her mind, which made her feel guilty. She was always afraid that the neckline would come loose or slowly slide down to reveal her clavicle, but in fact, the clothes here were more conservative than those of the Tang Dynasty. As long as it was a respectable woman, it was absolutely impossible to reveal her clavicle outside, let alone show someone what was embroidered on it. Thinking of embroidery, Xian Yi felt a dull ache in her clavicle again. Others might have tattoos, but she thought the pattern on her clavicle was embroidered, and she didn't know what method was used. The patterns under her skin were not only colorful but also clear, no matter how hard she washed or scrubbed, she couldn't get rid of them, nor could she destroy them. Of course, if she had been ruthless enough to burn it off with fire, it wouldn't have been impossible, but first, she was afraid of the pain, and secondly, if Jin Fenghua found out, she would probably become a corpse on the spot. So, under duress, Xian Yi could only cover it up with her heart and try to eliminate the thought.

  Turning her head to look at the mother who was talking to her, Xian Yi could only apologize silently in her heart. It wasn't that she didn't want to be a loyal servant, but circumstances were forcing her, and she couldn't help it either.

  The old lady was also furious at this time. Originally, her husband had been promoted and her son's marriage had gone smoothly, but she hadn't expected that her usually easy-going daughter would suffer such a crime. Thinking of her daughter crying on the bed with a heart-wrenching expression, as well as her grandson's thin and almost transparent skin, the old lady couldn't calm down. Only... The old lady looked at Chen Qiang, who was standing beside her with her head lowered and not speaking, and began to regret agreeing to give Xian Yi the right to free marriage when she was just a few years old. At that time, Xian Yi's appearance wasn't very clear yet, and she thought it was just giving a slave girl some favor, but she hadn't expected that it would lead to this difficult situation.

  However, the situation with her daughter was not something she could ignore. Chun Jing might be good-looking, but she was only delicate and pretty, so it was normal that her son-in-law didn't like to go there. But if giving up a fairy dress could make her son-in-law focus and make her daughter feel at ease, then she wouldn't mind making the sacrifice. The only thing she worried about was whether it would make Chen's mother heartbroken, which made her hesitant.

  Madam also thought of finding another girl from another family to marry into their household, but after searching far and wide, even visiting other families, they found that there were very few girls who were more beautiful than Xian Yi. Moreover, if a family had such a beautiful daughter, they would naturally have their own plans for her, so she couldn't ruin her husband's big plans for the sake of her daughter.

  As for buying one from outside, she didn't even think about it. Not to mention whether the bought girl was loyal or not, just thinking about how she might use her beauty to confuse her son-in-law made her and her daughter cry without a place to go. Only Xian Yi, who had been in her hands since childhood and grew up in the Jin Mansion, would rely on the Jin Mansion in the future, making her currently the most suitable choice.

  It's hard to decide, Chen Ayi has been serving for so many years, from taking care of her mother to herself, she has always been diligent and conscientious. Even her mother had repeatedly instructed her to treat Chen Ayi well. However, no matter how much she needed to be treated well, Chen Ayi was just a dead contract slave. Madame frowned, remembering what Ayi had said that day, and couldn't help but secretly blame Chen Ayi for not knowing how to show gratitude. She dared to arrange a marriage for Xianyi with an outer courtyard servant when she wasn't around. Wasn't this clearly showing that she didn't trust herself? Did she give Chen Ayi too much power, allowing her to develop a slave's arrogance?

  The lady lowered her head, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that what Old Nurse had said was right. Indeed, one person having all the power is not a good thing.

  At this time, Yun Shuang, who should have been outside, rushed in and said anxiously: "The lady's words, Lao Mei sister from Cao's side has arrived, saying that Cao seems to have moved the fetal air..."

  "What?" The old lady suddenly stood up, her heart was already stuffy, and when she heard this, her eyes turned black. Unconsciously, she thought of what Granny Zeng had said. If it weren't for Granny Chen being too kind-hearted, how would there be so many bastards in the Jin Mansion?